VALORANT devs reveal Agent 28 Waylay’s strongest maps

Riot Games has officially revealed Agent 28, Waylay, coming to VALORANT on March 5th with the launch of Episode 2025 Act 2.

Hailing from Thailand, this new duelist specializes in speed, enabling players to execute snappy and aggressive plays to hinder opponents. Her incredible mobility with Light Speed allows her to ambush opponents, find optimal positioning and evade incoming attacks.

During Waylay’s exclusive early access presentation attended by Esports Insider, the developers shared insights into Waylay’s abilities and design philosophy.

“She is the first entry duelist we’ve made in five years, which is very, very exciting,” said John Goscicki, Agent Lead at Riot Games.

“As we designed Waylay, we thought of her as a more strategic, cerebral Duelist. And we extended that strategic depth to her personality—she’s a seasoned duelist with years of experience. She is what we consider the ‘big sister’ of the roster,” he added further.

Waylay’s flexibility and creativity make her deadly across multiple maps, especially when paired with other agents’ abilities like Omen’s Paranoia and Breach’s Fault Line.

VALORANT features a total of 17 maps at the moment, but players looking to maximize Waylay’s potential should focus on Icebox, Ascent, Split and Pearl, which are her strongest maps, according to June Cuervo, Senior Agent Designer at Riot Games.

“Maps where the bombsites have lots of nooks and crannies to dash to, such as Icebox and Ascent, are maps where Waylay thrives,” said June. “However, maps like Breeze and Abyss that have a lot of large open areas on the sites can cause Waylay to struggle because she lacks 360 degree cover like Jett.”

Once Waylay is available, players can unlock her by completing her recruitment event and earning XP. While this is pretty easy to do, those who miss the window can unlock her later for 8,000 Kingdom Credits or 1,000 VP.

Apart from this, Xbox Game Pass subscribers can connect their Xbox account to their Riot Games account in order to gain access to Waylay from day one.